Return To Innocence
by ididitall
Summary: Takes place after the S2 finale. Emma and Hook embark on a journey to Neverland...but is it going to be just about finding Henry? Or will they find each other too in the process? (Rated T for now, might change later)


**AN: Hello there! This is my first fic...so please be gentle with me, eheh. There are so many great CS fanfics out there that inspired me to finally write my own. I hope you'll like it and stick around for more...and please leave a review, even a tiny one, I would really love to hear your thoughts. ;)**

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It was a quiet moment, rare to find during the last few days…or let's say months. Emma could hear the waves of the sea and the gentle breeze of the night coming through the little window in her cabin; she wondered what she'd been wondering for days now. Where was Henry? Was he okay? And that one thought that hurt her the most…was she ever going to see him again? She didn't want to think about the possibility of that, but she thought about him all the time, and even though she knew that he was a smart kid, she couldn't help but go through the worst scenarios in her head. She felt a tear slipping on her cheek and with a sigh she got up from bed, unable to sleep, in need of some fresh air to clear her head.

It was a beautiful night. There were tons of stars and the sky was as blue as the deep ocean surrounding them. They'd been aboard for days, but _he_…promised that they would get to Neverland soon enough. And she was going to trust him on this one.

She leaned on one of the sides of the ship, closing her eyes and breathing in the smell of salt water. Those waves sure seemed to have a calming effect on her.

Her minute of quiet though was soon interrupted when she felt a presence behind her, and it was so sudden that she almost let out a scream.

"No need to be frightened, love, it's just me", he said with that husky voice of his.

Emma rolled her eyes. Hook, of course.

"What are you doing here so late?", she asked casually.

He mimicked her position, and she tried her best to ignore how beautiful and almost unreal he looked with the reflection of the moonlight covering his face and the gentle wind moving his hair.

"I can't bring myself to sleep quite well these days, you know, mostly because I happen to accommodate on_ my_ ship the crocodile I hunted down for three-hundred years." He said through gritted teeth.

"Sorry about that.", she said sincerely, understanding completely how hard it must've been for Hook to have Gold on board and having to restrain himself from trying to kill him.

"How about you, Swan? What thoughts keep you up this late at night?", he asked, smirking and raising an eye-brow.

She rolled her eyes, smiling in spite of herself. "Always the same reason", she then said quietly.

His face turned serious too, giving her an understanding look.

"Aye, must be hard for you not to know what's going on with your lad", he said. "I know he's with those two scumbags, but I spent many years in Neverland- if it is of any comfort, I know most people there wouldn't lay a finger on him".

She looked at him, not really knowing how to respond.

"Thank you, Hook", she then said, trying her best not to look too emotional. "For what you're doing for _me_…for us", she quickly corrected herself.

Instead of giving her one of his usual remarks or jokes, he smiled at her. It was a tentative smile, but it was there. It was hard to get such genuine moments with him that weren't filled with innuendos or some sort of bickering, and Emma had to admit that it was actually kind of nice to be around him when he didn't act like an ass.

She wondered what he meant when he said that he needed reminding that he could care again; he looked at her so intensely while saying that, and just for a second it had seemed like the world around them didn't exist.

"So…how long 'till we get to destination?", she asked, trying to break the weird intensity of the moment.

"Not too long. I would say half a day, a few hours if the wind graces us. I will probably be able to tell you for sure when the sun rises", he said.

"Really?", Emma asked, a spark in her eyes, knowing that they were almost there. Knowing that maybe, just maybe, it wouldn't be too long until she saw Henry again.

"I can tell you something we could do while we're waiting for the morning to come…", he then said, suddenly very close to her. _Too_ close for her.

And of course he had to go and be his usual annoying self once again.

"I'm sure you can manage to entertain yourself quite well even alone, Hook", she said giving him a look.

"Ouch", he said, bringing his hand to his heart.

"Well, I guess I should leave you to it, then. Good night.", she then said, giving him a sly smile.

"Good night, lass. I'll be thinking of you." He said with a playful wink.

And this time she genuinely smiled; realizing that these five minutes that she had spent with the infuriating pirate had probably been the closest to feeling full of hope and possibility that she had felt in days.

The morning after, when waking up, Emma felt weirdly soothed. She hadn't been able to really sleep for days now, having nightmares about what happened to Neal and about Henry. But today she felt like it could finally lead to something positive.

As she stirred in bed she heard the loud noises coming from outside, it looked like everyone was up and active except for her.

From the tiny drawer beside her she took a change of clothes that Mary-Margaret had packed for her, and she felt grateful to have such a good friend…mom like her.

She got ready as quickly as she could and she finally stepped outside, seeing how busy everyone was going around as Hook gave the orders.

"Emma!", she heard Mary-Margaret say as she came to her. "Are you alright? I went to your cabin early this morning but you were sleeping so peacefully that I couldn't bring myself to wake you up", she said with a genuine smile.

"Thanks, but you could have woken me up anyway, I could have helped", she said shifting uncomfortably. She wasn't used to people taking care of her.

"I just thought that for once that you were able to sleep, I should have let you", Mary-Margaret offered, gently patting her shoulder. "Hook says that we're almost there", she then said.

"Already? Last night..I mean, uhm- yesterday he told me that it could take another day", Emma said, trying to act cool at 'last night's' mention. She saw Mary-Margaret giving her a look but luckily for her she let it go.

She then eyed everyone around them; David and Mr. Gold were in some sort of argument that she preferred not to get into, Regina was by herself, and then there was Hook at the helm. Even from a far, Emma could see that there was just something in his look…it was different. It was deep, and thoughtful. Every time she saw him like that she couldn't help but wonder what was going on in his mind. She couldn't lie though, seeing him at the commands of his ship and actually being a Captain had quite the effect on her.

"So Mary-Margaret told me we're close. Are we, really? To Neverland?", she said as she approached him, her voice little, a mix of hope and disbelief.

Yes, she was used to all of this by now, but Neverland…she dreamt of it when she was a kid. When in foster care they would show them Peter Pan, all of the kids were completely drawn to the story, that was one of the only good memories she had of her childhood. Hoping that maybe she could be part of the Lost Ones too, that she could experience what being in Neverland would feel like. Even back then, thinking about this, it gave her hope. Of course growing up she knew that it was all just a fantasy and something that only children would believe in…but now…I mean, she was on Captain freaking Hook's ship, for crying out loud (and he sure wasn't like the version of the movie at all). She was so immersed in her thoughts that she almost didn't hear Hook's answer.

"Indeed we are, darling. Welcome to Neverland", he said, leaning closer to her, a proud smirk on his face.

Her mouth dropped open at the sight that was in front of her.

In that moment she realized that they were in for one hell of a journey.


End file.
